//------------------------------// // Scroll 29- Battalia (Part 1) // Story: Beyond the Skies // by FrostTheWolf //------------------------------// Beyond the Skies- Battalia (Part 1) Over the course of two days, Calvin had been undergoing special lessons from King Pen with his training. The extra lessons were to help tailor some moves together that were unique to him, yet they also served an additional purpose: that being to prepare himself for what he would consider his first mission as a Skylander, one that involved infiltrating a very hostile environment in order to rescue two Skylanders that were being held captive there. It was a very dangerous operation in a hostile environment. Though, that wasn’t exactly what he told Twilight. She had to visit Canterlot to run an errand and only managed to return on the same day he was preparing for his trip. So, he told her the first thing that he came to mind, hoping that it was enough to get her to understand. “You’re going on a field trip?” The alicorn’s question was followed by a nod as Calvin began to put some stuff in a duffle bag that Spike let him borrow. The dragon had set two of them on the Cutie Map for him, but given what he was bringing, the Skyshifter honestly thought that he only needed one, “King Pen thought it would be a good idea for me to do some training outside of the academy. He wanted me to step outside my comfort zone, so I’m going to be doing some training under the guidance of another Skylander.” That had Twilight scratch her chin for a moment as she tried to process this, “Did your sensei say how long the trip was going to be?” “A couple of days. Though, if you taught me anything, it’s better to be safe than sorry,” he said as he folded up some of the clothes that Rarity made for him and put inside the bag. “I mean, I’m not even sure if I need a second bag, since I have everything I need in this one.” “Is it going to be just you and that other Skylander?” the princess spoke up, “Or, are you having Dusty come with you?” That had been something that Calvin did not think of originally. So, he had to come up with an answer on the spot. “I think I’ll just have her stay with Hot Dog and Skippy back at the Academy. You know, leave her with those that she’s comfortable with? I’m not sure if I’m allowed to bring pets on the trip, so better to be safe than sorry.” Just as he said that, the two of them heard a loud clashing sound come from the kitchen that got their attention. Shortly afterwards, they found Spike scrambling to his claws and ducking for cover by the Cutie Map, which only made Calvin and Twilight even more confused. “Spike, are you alright? What happened?” “To be honest… I don’t know,” the dragon replied back, “One moment, I was making breakfast for us. Then, the next thing I knew, Pinkie came in with all of her stuff from Sugarcube Corner and told me to move, something about a ‘baking emergency’... whatever that means.”  “It’s probably no big deal. Maybe Sugarcube Corner ran out of flour or something?” Calvin shrugged, trying to sound optimistic as he zipped up the bag that had his clothes. It was honestly the only reason that he could think of that would explain why Pinkie had to take over the kitchen this morning. Though, Spike didn’t really seem to be too convinced by that notion. It was only when another friend that they knew, Rainbow Dash, decided to come and visit that they got some kind of answer. Although, it wasn’t quite something that any of them were expecting. “Uh, Twilight? Why is there a banner for ‘Sugarcube Corner to-go’ hung up outside the castle?” That single question immediately had Twilight’s eyes widen as she looked back to Calvin and Spike. Yet, before any of them could go in and find out what’s going on, Pinkie Pie herself popped in from the kitchen. The mare was balancing a sheet of cookies on her tail as she giggled. “Well, why else would I be here, Dashie? There was a baking emergency at Sugarcube Corner today, but I still gotta get these delicious treats out to everypony!” At first, Calvin had several questions. Though, since most of them seemed to be about things that couldn’t quite be explained, the Skyshifter asked a different kind of question. “What kind of emergency?” “Well, the Cakes couldn’t get their oven to work this morning and had to call a repair pony to come fix it,” Pinkie answered, “In the meantime, I took everything I could get my hooves on, and-” It was as she was speaking that she noticed Calvin’s bag on the table, as well as the empty duffle bag that he had yet to put away as the party pony let out a gasp. “Calvy, you’re going somewhere today!?” “Uh… yes?” he answered, “Why-?” “Wait right there, silly!! I’ll be back in a jiffy!” Pinkie giggled, before disappearing back into the kitchen again, the tray that she was balancing on her tail landing gracefully on the Cutie Map like a feather from a bird, something that left Calvin rather baffled as he just looked back at Rainbow and Spike. “Should I be concerned?” “Given this is Pinkie we’re talking about,” Rainbow shrugged as she looked around the room for a moment before turning her attention back to Calvin, “I’m going to go with a solid maybe.” “Maybe-?” Before Rainbow had the chance to respond, the party pony came back from the kitchen again. This time she was with a cart that was filled with what could only be described as a mountain of fresh chocolate chip cookies that were hot and out of the oven. “Here we go, Calvy! Some goodies for you to take with you on your trip!” Calvin could only stare at the massive amount of baked goods that were in front of him as he tried to process this. Was she really expecting for him to take all of this with her? “P-Pinkie, I don’t think-” “Come on, Calvy! You need some snacks for the road!” As the party pony said this, she pulled the open duffle bag closer to her and pressed some kind of lever on the cart. Seconds later, the back of the cart began to turn at an angle and off-load the baked goods into the duffle bag. Much to his disbelief, Pinkie was somehow able to fill the entire much smaller bag with cookies and get it to zip closed properly. Part of him was tempted to ask how she was able to pull it off, but after a moment, he just let out a sigh. “Don’t question it. It’s Pinkie.” Now, Twilight thought it would be a real good time to change the topic as the princess looked back towards Calvin, “So… you were mentioning that you were bringing Dusty to the academy? If that’s the case, where is she now-?” Ironically, just as Twilight was asking that, Dusty herself was rushing down the stairs of the castle, “M-master, I just finished cleaning your room for you-” Yet, as she reached the bottom of the stairs, all the lava puppy could see was the leftover cookies that were scattered across the floor as her eyes widened in horror. “... I’ll… retrieve the broom.” “A-actually, let me get that, Dusty,” Spike interjected, surprising Calvin as the dragon walked over to where the broom and dustpan were kept, “Calvin said that he has plans with you for today, so leave this to me.” That had the lava dog stop for a moment, happiness beaming from her face as she looked back to the Skyshifter at the thought of spending more time with him. Unfortunately for her, that was not the plan for today. As Calvin and Dusty left Twilight’s castle and arrived at the academy, the Skyshifter couldn’t help but feel that something was off. Nothing had changed at the academy, but the atmosphere was different this time around. Normally, the students at the academy would be happy and socializing with one another. Yet, this time around, all he saw was expressions of worry and concern. “Stealth Elf still isn’t back yet? How long has it been since she was last here?” he overheard one of the students in the courtyard talking to their friends. “I don’t know, but it doesn’t take this long in order to do a mission,” another student said, “Do you think something happened to her?” “Pfft, no way. If something happens to her, she can handle herself… right?” “Geez, everyone looks so sad,” Calvin thought to himself, before noticing someone familiar. Tessa was outside, talking with Cali, Mags and Buzz before the fox noticed him and waved him over. “Hi, Calvin! Welcome back-” Tessa spoke up, just before her nose twitched as she sniffed the air around the Skyshifter, “Um, why do you smell like freshly baked cookies?” In response, Calvin dropped a duffle bag that was as tall as he was as he slowly opened up the bag and took a few steps back. In a matter of seconds, Tessa, Cali and Mags found themselves under a large pile of freshly baked goods that were spread out across the grounds of the courtyard. As for Buzz, he managed to get out of the way in time and not get dragged in unlike the others. As this was happening, the Skyshifter let out a deep sigh as he placed the duffle bag that had his clothes over his shoulder as Dusty stood next to him, “Pinkie Pie says hello.” Tessa herself honestly could not believe what just happened as she looked back at the Skyshifter, “Okay… One, how is this even possible?” she asked, just as the fox grabbed a chocolate chip cookie that was on her head, “And two, why cho-” Unfortunately for her, things were about to get worse, “Oh, my sweet enchilada sauce, cookies!!” “Wait! Flynn, stop-” Unfortunately for the fox, her pleas fell on deaf ears as Flynn ran towards the massive pile of baked goods, something that just had Calvin let out a sigh as he watched the mess that was unfolding in the courtyard. As for Buzz, he turned towards the Skyshifter as he noticed the expression on the elderly mabu’s face. “It was Pinkie Pie. Don’t question it.” “W-who’s Pinkie Pie?” they now heard Cali ask as she struggled to break free. “Oh, who could she be?” Calvin heard an all too familiar voice as he and Buzz turned their heads to the left. Much to their surprise, Pinkie Pie herself was standing next to them as she giggled in place and turned to look at them, “Oh, right! She’s me!!” “Wah!! W-where’d you come from!?” Flynn was the next one to speak. “Well, when a mommy and daddy love each other very much-” “NOT THAT SPEECH!!” Mags blurted out. Calvin and Dusty were baffled by the party pony’s sudden appearance. Not long ago, she had transformed Twilight’s kitchen into a mobile bakery and had him carry a mountain of cookies in a spare bag. Now, she was standing here alongside them and admiring what was happening in front of them. “P-Pinkie? How-?” “I’m on break, silly!” she giggled, “Besides, Starlight’s helping us out. There’s nothing she can’t handle.” “Spike, help me get these out to the Flower sisters! Rainbow, get these muffins to Derpy!! Where the hay is Pinkie right now?! We can’t handle this just by ourselves!!” What Pinkie just told him had numerous questions pop up inside Calvin’s mind, but he decided to not ask them. This was Pinkie Pie after all. “Ow!” they now heard from the pile of cookies as Tessa flinched in pain, “F-Flynn, what are you doing-?!!” A few seconds later, Tessa let out another gasp of pain  as she turned towards Flynn, “OW! My tail!!” “Hey, what was that fo-” the mabu pilot asked, before getting distracted again, “Oh! More cookies!” “You just bit me, Flynn!” the fox snapped. “Well, how else do you expect me to get you out of there?” the pilot asked, “Let these cookies go to waste?” While all of this was playing out, Calvin just looked towards Buzz with a concerned expression on his face, “Should we… I don’t know… help them?” In response, Buzz pulled out a pocket watch that was inside his coat and took a look at the time, “We could… Though, it’ll make us late for your meet up with Snap Shot. Surely, you have a couple of things you want to get done before you head out, right?” Calvin nodded, before he looked back down to the lava puppy that was next to him, “Hey, Dusty, I got an important mission I need to do, but it’s… kind of a secret. Can you please wait with Hot Dog and your siblings until I get back? I think you would be more comfortable with Skippy and the others here than back at the castle.” “Oooh, a doggy sleepover! Skippy would LOVE that!!” Pinkie added on. Dusty herself was thrown a bit off guard by everything. Originally, the lava puppy thought that she was going to be alongside her master on his mission. However, after hearing Calvin ask for her to stay with Skippy and the others, she felt rather… disappointed. Mainly, because she was denied the chance to try and prove herself to her master. After leaving the chaotic chocolate chip mess that was in the courtyard, Calvin and Dusty followed Buzz inside the Academy as the elderly mabu led them to the rest of the Fire Dogs. Pinkie herself had to return back to the castle, since her ‘break’ was done, so it was just the three of them as they made their way through the academy halls.  Fortunately, it did not take long in order to run into them, because they ran into Skippy and Hot Block a few moments later. Though, Hot Block looked to be searching for something throughout the entire hallway and didn’t seem to notice or pay attention to them. Skippy, on the other hand, immediately raced over to them and greeted them. “Hiya, Calvy! Back so soon? I don’t remember you having any lessons going on today,” Skippy spoke up, noticing Calvin look towards Hot Block for a moment before returning his gaze to her, “Don’t mind Hot Block. He’s just being a grumpy pants right now.” “At least I’m trying to take this seriously,” the other fire dog snapped, “You’re supposed to be helping me here.” “Um… is everything okay?” Calvin now asked, a bit confused by what was going on. Skippy nodded her head briefly, before hearing a groan from Hot Block that prompted her to speak, “Yeah, we’re just looking for Smoky. Little guy is playing hide and seek with us, and we’re trying to find him.” “We’ve been looking for TWO hours!” “He’s very good at this game,” Skippy chuckled, which only caused Hot Block to groan loudly, “So… what brings you to the academy?” “Well...” Calvin paused, before looking down as Dusty as he set his bag on the ground for a moment, “I’m going on an important trip, and unfortunately, I can’t have Dusty come along with me. Can I let her stay with you guys until I get back?” “We’re kind of-” “Absolutely!!” Skippy cut off Hot Block, before pulling in Dusty for a hug that she didn’t anticipate, “Oh, this is going to be SO MUCH FUN!! Just wait until I tell everyone else!” Dusty herself, looked rather uncomfortable with her being smothered by her sister. Yet, Calvin could only just chuckle as he pet the top of Dusty’s head, “Don’t worry. I’ll try to be back as soon as I can,” he assured her, before picking his bag back up and looking back to Buzz. “So, you ready to get going, kiddo?” the mabu asked him. “Yes, I am,” Calvin replied back as the two of them began to make their way to the docks. Though, it was as he was walking over that the Skyshifter had a question for Buzz, “So… out of curiosity… since Flynn’s too busy eating cookies, who’s going to fly us over?” All the mabu did was grin a bit as he looked back at Calvin and zipped up a zipper that came undone on his bag, “I know someone that can help us out. I think it’s time I introduced you to our head mechanic at the academy.” At the shipyard that was by Skylander Academy, one dirt shark was entrusted by the staff at the academy to maintain the vehicles and vessels that were in the hangar. Sharpfin, who was originally the baron of Motleyville, was now the academy’s head mechanic. He and his pit crew were responsible for making sure that any vessel that came into his hangar was fine tuned and working properly. It wasn’t exactly an easy job by any means, but it was still an important one nonetheless. It was as Sharpfin was having his crew prepare their equipment that one of the crew members, Fender, knocked at the door to Sharpfin’s office. “Hey, boss… You got a visitor this morning.” That just had the dirt shark let out a small groan, “If it’s Flynn at the door, tell him I am not making any additional improvements to his airship after how damaged it got last time.” Sharpfin told his crew member. Even though Flynn was a good pilot, the one thing that he couldn’t do right was to properly maintain his ship. It was the reason why they had to fix his airship more than any of the other vehicles that came into his garage. “He’s lucky that we were able to fix it. Any more damage, and the whole vessel would be scrapped-” “Actually, boss, it’s not Flynn that’s here,” Fender corrected him as the engineer opened the door. Much to Sharpfin’s surprise, he had a different visitor waiting for him as the dirt shark picked up his cane. That visitor was Snap Shot, the leader of the Trap Team and the warden of Cloudcracker Prison. “Good morning, Sharpfin,” the crocogator greeted him, “Everything alright this morning?” The dirt shark sighed, before looking back at the Skylander that arrived at his workshop. “For the most part, yes,” he greeted them, before stepping out of his office and closing the door behind him, “So, what brings you to the shipyard? Do you need something fixed or are you looking for something else?” “More of the latter actually.” As he said that, Fender excused himself and returned back to the garage as Sharpfin looked back at the Trap Master, “Well, what exactly are you looking for?” he asked as the dirt shark led him towards the hangar where all the vessels were being kept, “Because the only thing you’ll find here are ships and any leftover spare parts that we haven’t used for repairs yet.” “Well, a ship is one thing,” Snap Shot responded, “Though, I’m also going to need a pilot.” “Don’t you already know one?” Sharpfin retorted, already thinking that this is something that had to relate to Flynn. Then, the Trap Master corrected himself, “One who doesn’t attract attention to himself like a walking magnet.” That had the head mechanic pause for a moment, before turning back around to face Snap Shot directly as he held onto the top of his cane with both of his claws, “…I’m listening.” The crocogator could only smirk after hearing that. Now, he was getting somewhere. “Incognito mission, mostly as back-up due to restrictions upon Skylanders for the area.” After hearing that, Sharpfin turned back around and walked over to a particular airship that was in the center of the hangar bay. It was a light blue and white ship that looked to be around the same size as Flynn’s own vessel, but a lot more versatile, equipped with a few jet engines, a harpoon cannon and the decal of a flaming set of shark teeth, “It’s been a while since I had the Hammerhead be out in the open skies. I think it’s time to get her back in the air again.” Shortly after saying that, Sharpfin put his left claw to his mouth and let out a whistle, with two of his pit crew showing up moments later. “Alright, listen up-” he paused, looking at the crew as he realized something, “Wait a second, where’s Clyde?” “Someone was at the door, so Clyde went to go answer it,” one of the other dirt sharks named Socket responded, “What do you need, boss?” “Well, once Clyde gets in here, I need the three of you to get the Hammerhead ready for takeoff,” Sharpfin informed them, “I’m taking her out for a flight, and I need you three to keep an eye on things while I’m gone.” Both of the dirt sharks nodded, before they made their way towards the Hammerhead and began to make preparations. As they were doing that, Clyde came back in the room a few moments later, “Hey, boss, Buzz is at the front door. Looks like he’s got some rookie with him, too.” “Let them in,” Snap Shot interjected as he looked back at Sharpfin, “That ‘rookie’ has been trained by King Pen himself, and is the key member of this mission.” At first, the dirt shark was a bit confused. Though, after a moment, he looked back to Clyde and nodded his head, “You heard him. Let them come in.” Right after saying that, Clyde nodded as he opened the door and let both of them inside as they walked down into the hangar. When Sharpfin looked at the ‘rookie’ that was next to Buzz, he wasn’t sure what to think of him. Aside from his appearance, the head mechanic couldn’t quite figure out what exactly made him a ‘key member’ to the mission that Snap Shot mentioned. “Calvin, this is our head mechanic, Sharpfin,” Buzz told the newcomer, “He and his crew are responsible for making sure every vehicle in the academy is properly taken care of. He’s also one heck of a pilot as well.” “Funny you mentioned that, Buzz,” Snap Shot spoke up now as the crocogator folded his arms, “I was just talking to Sharpfin about that, and he’s on board with taking us where we need to go.” “Well, that’s just perfect!” the mabu replied back. Though, Sharpfin’s attention was more focused on the one named Calvin. He looked calm, but the expression on the rookie’s face was a familiar one. It was a look of recognition, as if they had seen him somewhere before, something he’s seen plenty of back when he was a baron, whether he wanted it or not. “Something on your mind, kid?” Sharpfin asked, which caught the rookie’s attention, “You’re looking at me as if you’ve seen me before somewhere.” The rookie paused, almost as if he was caught for doing something wrong. Yet, before he could answer, Buzz decided to chime in, “Well, this isn’t the first time Calvin has recognized people before they were introduced. I personally have held off on asking, but I can’t deny that I am a bit curious.” “Really now?” Sharpfin asked as he turned back towards the newcomer, “Is there something that we should know about?” He looked nervous at first, but afterwards, the rookie let out a small breath and looked back at them calmly, “Yeah, but perhaps it would be better for me to share that after our mission. It’s kind of important, and I really don’t want to mess up our focus when trying to save our friends.” “Say what-?” “Boss, all the preparations are done!” Sharpfin now heard Fender call out to him as he and Socket extended the walkway of the ship down to the ground so he and the others could board the vessel. “She’s all yours, whenever you’re ready.” Sharpfin looked back to his crew, before looking back at Calvin and Snap Shot as he let out a sigh. “Well, what are you waiting for? The sooner you get on board, the sooner we can head out,” he told them as he boarded the ship, “And maybe tell me what’s going on while we’re at it.” Shortly after Calvin and Snap Shot boarded the airship that was known as the Hammerhead, Sharpfin piloted the ship out of the hangar as they began to fly away from the academy. Right away, Calvin could tell that the dirt shark’s ship was much different from that of Flynn’s own vessel. The main thing that stood out was that the Hammerhead was much faster than that of the S.S. Boom, though it didn’t have the space to carry a lot of cargo. Another difference was that unlike Flynn’s ship, Sharpfin’s airship was equipped with weapons on deck in case they were attacked. Though, it was as they were out on the open skies that he felt the ship slow down, before hearing Sharpfin speak up from behind the wheel, “So, now that we’re a safe distance away from the academy… where exactly am I taking you two?” For a moment, Snap Shot and Calvin looked back at each other, before the crocogator asked a question, “Are you familiar with an arena called the MaguDome?” “Ugh… don’t remind me,” Sharpfin let out a disgusted groan, “Any time that my crew tries to listen to the radio while in the workshop, we hear too many stupid radio commercials for that place. Though, why exactly would the two of you be asked to go there?” “Well, a while back, two different Skylanders went missing after they were sent on two different recon missions to gather information on Kaos,” Snap Shot continued, “It wasn’t until a couple days ago that we learned that they were being held captive at the MaguDone by the drow who runs it.” “I see. So, this is a rescue mission then?” “Well, kind of,” Calvin now spoke up, “If I remember correctly, Buzz said that where they are being held at has security measures in place to keep out any Skylanders that tried to go in.” “Not to mention that Magus, the drow in charge, has a machine that is capable of disrupting a Skylander’s connection with Master Eon,” Snap Shot added, “Fortunately though, we have a plan to work around this.” “Oh, really? Do tell,” the dirt shark now responded, which had the Trap Master smirk and fold his arms as he looked back towards Sharpfin. “Are you familiar with the concept of a trojan sheep?” At first, Sharpfin looked to be confused. Though, as he looked back towards Calvin, his earlier expression began to change. “Wait a minute… you’re using the rookie as a spy? Isn’t that a bit risky?” “Actually, it was my idea,” Calvin clarified, “Besides, we’re short on time and don’t have any alternatives that wouldn’t cause an uproar and make saving them nearly impossible.” Sharpfin looked back at the rookie with a puzzled look on his face as he now spoke up, “Well, if that’s the case, then what exactly is this idea of yours?” Now, the Skyshifter looked back at the dirt shark with a small grin as he began to explain his plan, “Right now, the MaguDome is hosting a giant ‘charity’ fighting tournament. The plan is that I take part in the tournament and relay anything I find that could help in getting our friends out to Snap Shot. Once he has enough information, we figure out a plan to break them out.” Sharpfin let out a small chuckle as he looked back at Calvin, “Are you sure that’s a good idea? You don’t look like that much of a fighter yourself. So, how do you plan on surviving through a whole tournament?” After hearing what Sharpfin told him, Calvin just looked back at Snap Shot and asked the first question that came to mind. “Should I show him now? Or when we get closer to where we’re going?” “Would this cost you at all?” Snap Shot asked him. Though, after noticing that Calvin was confused by what he said, the crocogator rephrased his question, “Would you need time to recover afterwards?” “No,” the Skyshifter simply shook his head. “Then, go ahead and show him,” the Trap Master said to Calvin. His only response was a simple nod as the crystal on his pendant began to glow. In a matter of moments, he took on the form of his Imaginator on the front deck of the ship, something that definitely caught Sharpfin by surprise. “Huh… Well, that’s a first,” the dirt shark admitted, “And just when I thought that working with the Skylanders has gotten me used to seeing things like that.” Calvin could only chuckle a bit as he looked back at Sharpfin, “So, yeah, I’ll be going into the tournament looking like this, so they’ll think I’m just another drow elf participating in the tournament,” once he finished speaking, Calvin changed back to his normal appearance, “Even Buzz was on board with this.” “Hmm... now I know why,” Sharpfin replied as he got back to the wheel, “Well, hopefully, it'll be enough to get the job done. Sit tight, and I’ll get us there as soon as possible.” With that in mind, both Calvin and Snap Shot took a seat below deck as Sharpfin focused on getting them to their destination. As the ship was en route, the Skyshifter and the Trap Master were going over final preparations before they reached the MaguDome. In that process, Snap Shot gave Calvin what looked to be a wristband to wear. Afterwards, the crocogator explained to him that this wristband was actually a communication device that was given to him by Buzz. With it, they were able to relay any information they happened to find without the need for radios. After some time though, Calvin heard Sharpfin call out from above deck, “Hey, rookie, we reached our destination. Better come up here quick though. There’s quite a crowd out here.” That had Calvin look back towards Snap Shot as he picked up his bag and changed forms. “Wish me luck. I’ll try to reach out to you the first chance I get.” With that, he climbed up onto the front deck of the Hammerhead to join Sharpfin as he looked out towards their destination. Upon first glance, Calvin was thrown off guard by two things. The first thing was the sheer size of the arena itself. It looked less like a small arena and more like a football stadium that he would see back home, with the only difference being that instead of throwing footballs towards one another, the competitors were throwing punches. The second thing was the amount of people that were not only inside the arena, but also wandering around outside. There were snack booths, carnival games and even vendors that sold souvenirs, like drow elf action figures and chompy plushies. Once Sharpfin was close enough to the stadium, Calvin jumped onto the landing platform and adjusted his wristband. “Alright, I made it. Everything good on your end?” “I can hear you loud and clear,” Snap Shot’s voice came through the communicator, “Good thing, too. We just got word from Buzz. He informed the agent that he has stationed outside about your arrival. They can help you find out where you need to go to register for the tournament.” “Alright. Any idea where I can find them?” “Well, last time he brought this up, Buzz said that they were undercover as a t-shirt vendor,” the crocogator replied back, “Looking at the outline he provided, I think there’s one close to the main entrance. Try looking over there.” After he heard that, the communicator went silent as Calvin adjusted his shoulders and straightened up his bag. As he walked around, he came across numerous attendants that looked to have been visiting the arena and were there to watch the tournament unfold. Each one had a red lanyard around their neck with a pass that said ‘Attendee’ in black letters along the top and the logo of the tournament in the center. There were others that had blue lanyards, too, but those ones looked to have been ‘V.I.P.’ attendants. Trying to navigate through the area outside of the MaguDome was a challenge, especially when it felt like seven to ten people were going in the opposite direction that he was trying to go. Though, it was as he was finally getting somewhere that he heard a particularly familiar voice speak up. “T-shirts! Come get your t-shirts here!! We got new shirts here, just in time for the big tournament!!” “You have got to be kidding me. Is that who I think it is?” he thought to himself, before turning his head towards where the voice was coming from. Behind the counter of the t-shirt booth was none other than the mabu that he had seen before in previous Skylanders games. Agent Snuckles, a mabu who would do his best to help the Skylanders, even though he was in no way a fighter. There were two to three other Mabu that were with him and working at the booth, accepting payments and answering any questions that their customers had. Though, it seemed as if Snuckles was the one trying to get the attention of anyone who passed by.  At least, until the mabu happened to notice him, “Ah, hello. Welcome to Snuckle’s Shirt Stand. Is there anything I can help you with today? Maybe something you’re looking for?” For a moment, Calvin looked around the booth and took a moment to look at the selection of items that were on display. Each one was interesting, though there was something that he realized after a couple of moments, “Yeah, uh… I’m not sure if I can afford any of these,” he replied, raising his left arm up so he could scratch his head, “I don’t have any money on me-” As he said that, Calvin noticed that Snuckle’s eyes broke away for a moment and looked towards his wristband, before looking back at him, “Y-you’re the-?!” he said, before covering his mouth and looking at the other Mabu that were at the stand. Afterwards, he looked back at the others and spoke again, “I… need to take a break. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.” When Snuckles was stepping away though, Calvin noticed the mabu motion his head back to behind the t-shirt booth, which prompted him to follow. As he walked behind the booth, that was when Snuckles let out a sigh of relief, “Thank goodness you’re here,” he said in a low tone of voice, “You must be the new guy, right?” At first, Calvin just blinked… just before letting out a sigh and going along with it, “That would be me. Would it be right for me to assume that you are Buzz’s agent?” “That’s right,” the mabu spoke again, still keeping his voice low, “Agent Snuckles at your service. Though, before I go on, I must ask… what’s your name?” Calvin was tempted to answer right away, but a thought came across to him as he looked back at Snuckles, “I rather not say my real name since we are in enemy territory. Though, if you want, you can call me Kai Chi. It’s…” “A code name?” Snuckles asked. That had the Skyshifter pause for a moment. Yet, after some thinking, he nodded his head, “Sure, let’s go with that.” “Sounds good to me,” the mabu nodded, “Now, you want to compete in Batallia right? Well, to take part in the tournament, you need to go through the registration process inside. Though, that’s not easy.” Calvin just raised an eyebrow as he turned back to the mabu and folded his arms, “Really? How so? Don’t you just sign a few papers, and they let you in?” “Not… entirely,” Snuckles explained, “Since there are so many last minute applicants, Magus established a ‘qualifier’ round that takes place today in order to fill up the remaining open positions. First come, first serve. I… don’t know how the qualifier is supposed to work though.” “It’s alright. You’ve helped me out a lot already,” the Skyshifter replied back to the mabu as he unfolded his arms, “How about you show me where I can go register, and you leave the rest to me?” In response, the mabu had Calvin follow him inside the arena and towards the registration desk. Once he got there, he found himself looking at what looked to be a bipedal grizzly bear with a body shape that was eerily similar to the life Skylander named Zoo Lou, the only noticeable difference being that it was a bit bigger in size and the fur color was that of darkened soil instead of white as snow. That, and there was a name plaque on the desk that just said ‘Junior’. As the bear noticed him, all they did was just let out a low growl, “Urgh… What do you want?” “I’m here to register for Batallia,” the Skyshifter told him. “Pfft, really? You? Against everyone else that’s already signed up?” the bear rolled his eyes, “I don’t know about you, but I really don’t think you know what you’re getting yourself into. I mean, aren’t you too young to be participating in a fight like this, kid?” All Calvin did was let out a sigh, before snapping his fingers as he formed a fireball in his right hand, holding it rather close to the bear’s face as he asked him one question, “Aren’t you too old to be asking stupid questions, Junior?” The bear just fell silent, before slowly pushing across a clipboard with papers for Calvin to sign as he looked back towards the bear and dismissed the fireball. Once he signed the papers and gave them back to Junior, he had a pair of greebles escort him towards the ‘competitors only’ section of the arena. He could hear the roars from the crowd just above his head as he followed the greebles and wondered how tough the qualifier round was going to be. At one point, the Greebles stopped as he was standing in front of a barred gate. One of them pointed to the bag that was on Calvin’s back, before pointing to a pile of bags nearby. Even though the Skyshifter couldn’t understand a word they said, he got the impression that they wanted him to leave his bag behind and not take it with him into the arena. Of course, he didn't want to assume that. After all, Greebles were mischievous creatures. “You’re not going to be looking through my stuff while I’m out there, are you?” The question was followed by one of the greebles shaking his head… while their companion was just shrugging their shoulders, something that made the first greeble angry and smack the other in the head before they shook their head, too, which had Calvin let out a sigh of relief as he set his bag down with the others. Fortunately, he did not have to wait long until he heard the voice of the announcer echo throughout the entire arena. ‘Alright now, Folks! We got one last qualifying match today, and then, the real fun and games begin!!’ “Here we go,” Calvin thought, cracking his knuckles and getting himself ready. The gate slowly began to drop down as he walked into the arena. “Our first fighter into the ring is a complete and utter newcomer into the arena. Literally, this is his first ever fight folks! Please welcome Kai Chi!!” As the Skyshifter stepped out into the arena, he didn’t exactly receive the warmest of welcomes. Many in the stadium thought that this was somehow a complete joke, while others even taunted him from the stands and told him to just give up. Yet, he ignored the noise and focused on who else was coming. “Now, our second fighter is one that many of you that have been here before would be familiar with. He’s an Evilikin who has come face to face against those pesky Skylanders and lived to tell the tale! Give it up for the saw slicer, the buckler basher, the treeline tanker! Shield… SHREDDER!!” “Wait a minute, did he just say-” Calvin did not even have the chance to fully hear Snap Shot’s remarks as his opponent came bursting through the gate on the opposite side of the arena. The Evilikin, a species of wooden golem with metal accents, was immediately on the offensive as its bladed shield took form on its right arm, charging at Calvin and forcing him to dash out of the way. As Calvin regained his footing, he was beginning to remember what his teacher told him.  The first thing he needed to do was observe and see what his opponent could do. Even though he was a bit familiar with his opponent, Calvin did not want to underestimate what they were capable of. If he watched his opponents and how they would fight, then the Skyshifter can find himself an opening to attack. Right away, the Skyshifter can tell a couple of things. First, as his name implied, Shield Shredder still used his drill shield to charge at whoever they were facing. In addition, he was still able to summon two oversized saw blades from the ground that served as a protective barrier to block ranged attacks.  Though, alongside the moves that Calvin remembered from this villain, Shield Shredder had two new abilities that he had never seen before. To start, the Evilikin could now utilize his shield like a wheel and dash towards the Skyshifter from farther away. In addition to this, Shield Shredder was able to use leaf-like energy to phase through the barriers that he could create. It was something that Calvin learned the hard way when he tried to hide behind one to protect himself from an attack, only to get knocked to the ground by his opponent. “Oof! That’s got to leave a mark! Our newcomer is quickly learning that there’s no place where he can hide out here!” “O-ow, that hurt,” Calvin grit his teeth as he got back up. With hiding behind cover no longer an option, the Skyshifter had to find a way to fight back. Yet, doing so was starting to become really difficult. “Okay, at the rate this is going, I can’t stay here. I need to make a move.” Throwing caution to the wind, the Skyshifter chose to run straight towards his opponent in a head long attack, a decision that proved to be a fatal mistake. As he dashed straight towards the Evilikin, the ground in between them began to crack open. When Calvin’s foot touched the ground, several smaller saw blades that were the size of dinner plates rose up from the cracks in the ground and shattered, with pieces of them tearing through his clothes and scraping his legs and torso. “Looks like our new guy is learning how dangerous he is the hard way! It’s not looking great for him, folks!” As Calvin got back up, he felt pain shoot all across his body. The unexpected surprise by Shield Shredder had thrown him off guard and left him injured. Though, he couldn’t give up just yet. As he brushed the dirt off of his clothes and wiped it off his face, he looked back at his opponent and took up a stance. “Really now? You still haven’t given up yet?” the Evilikin told him, grinning as he prepared to attack again, having his left arm behind him as his shield began to rapidly spin up, “Let’s see how you like THIS!” As Shield Shredder charged at Calvin with another attack, the Skyshifter stood firmly and let the Evilikin come closer. At the point where he was about to strike, he sidestepped to the right to avoid it. Before the Evilikin could turn around, the Skyshifter grabbed hold of his left arm and put his strength into throwing his foe off balance and striking him as they tumbled across the ground. “Oh my GOODNESS!! Did you just see that, folks?! Looks like this newcomer’s got some fight in him after all!!” “Now, we’re getting somewhere,” Calvin smirked, cracking his knuckles as he raced towards his opponent. In his mind, he thought that going on the attack before his opponent had a chance to get back on their feet would result in them making critical mistakes. If he can do that, then victory would be his. “Look out, everyone! We got ourselves a firestarter here!!” When Shield Shredder got back on their feet, the Evilikin didn’t have a lot of time to react. The Evilikin could only raise up his shield, anticipating an attack directly in front of him. Yet, in a split second, the Skyshifter stepped to the Evilikin’s left and struck him again with a burning right hook, something that not only caught his opponent off guard, but left a painful mark on his face.  “Grr, that hurt!” he snapped, before noticing that Calvin was charging at him again, “Oh, no you don’t!” Quickly, Shield Shredder dropped down two more barriers on the ground in an attempt to block him from going forward. With his pursuer blocked, the Evilikin could now phase through and take his opponent by surprise. However, the first thing that greeted Shield Shredder the moment that he phased through was a fiery haymaker from his opponent straight to his face. Calvin knew that if he tried to hide behind the shields, it would lead to his opponent phasing through the barrier to attack him. So, with that in mind, he prepared his megaton punch for the moment after his opponent stepped through. With the Evilikin not being able to escape, they took the full force of the punch that sent him skidding across the battlefield. It was a move that got the crowd into a frenzy, “Would you look at that. This kid is a fighter after all! But does he have what it takes to finish the fight?” To the Skyshifter, the answer was an immediate yes. He had friends that were counting on him, and he wasn’t going to let someone like Shield Shredder stop him. In one last pursuit, Calvin dashed in front of the Evilikin before slamming his fists together and igniting them, causing the blaze to strike his opponent three times and dazing him in the process. While he was stunned, Calvin knocked him into the air with an uppercut, before leaping up and throwing a powerful punch that sent his opponent crashing to the floor. “What a finish!! In an unexpected turn of events, the rookie was able to pull off a victory and secure the final spot in Battalia!! Give it up for Kai Chi!!!” Shortly after the fight was over, Calvin watched a team of four greebles come out from the gate on the other side of the arena to get Shield Shredder onto a stretcher and off of the field. A poke from behind had the Skyshifter turn around to see the two greebles from before standing behind him. Both of them were gesturing for him to follow, so the first thought that came to his mind was that they were escorting him off of the field. “Alright, lead the way.” As he followed the two of them, another team of greebles walked past them into the arena. From the short glimpse that he got of them, this team was one that would come in to clean up the arena between matches. Though, when he tried to watch, all that did was cause the greebles that were escorting him to become impatient and snap at him. Once he was back inside, he walked over to grab his bag. Though, as he picked it up, he realized that the greebles were… wanting him to follow them some more. Calvin honestly did not expect for the two greebles to lead him anywhere else after his victory, but as he followed them, he began to see a series of doors, each one with a number that was engraved on the front as he was led to one particular door with the number thirteen on the front. As one of them opened the door, what Calvin found behind there was… surprising to say the least. The room was the size of his own bedroom back at Twilight’s castle, though it did not have the same kind of luxuries. The bed that was inside was on a metal frame, the clock on the wall looked rather old and the room had a desk by a window that looked out to the open skies. As he looked at them, he only had one question on his mind. “Is this… for me?” This time, both of the Greebles nodded as one of them handed a slip of paper to him as Calvin stepped inside. Yet, before he could turn around and ask what it was, the door slammed behind him as he found himself in the empty room. “Should I assume that the door slamming was a good thing?” For the Skyshifter, he now let out a sigh of relief as he reverted back to his normal form and held up his left arm to look at the wristband, “Yeah, it was. I won the qualifier and secured my spot in the tournament. Got my own room, too, so thankfully, I have some privacy.” “Well, that’s a relief,” he heard Snap Shot reply back now, “I was a little worried that you wouldn’t be able to hold your own out there against Shield Shredder.” That comment had a new question emerge in Calvin’s mind now, “Yeah, about that… Why exactly is Shield Shredder out in the first place? Isn’t he supposed to be locked up now?” “Well, it depends,” the crocogator replied, “Some of them, like Chill Bill for example, were released from Cloudcracker Prison for good behavior. However, after the Sky Eater incident a long while back, some of the villains we did have in custody escaped and have been on the run ever since.” “So, since this place is a ‘Anti-Skylander’ space, it would be possible that some of them found this arena as a good place to hide?” “It’s definitely possible,” Snap Shot replied, “Still, good work out there today. Make sure to get some rest.” Calvin just chuckled as he tossed his bag towards the bed, “Will do-” As the bag made contact though, that was when Calvin heard an unexpected noise, what sounded like a mid-pitch squeal from inside his bag. As he walked over and pulled on the zipper, some smoke came out of his bag, before he found himself looking at the last thing that he expected... ...Smoky, the same lava dog that Skippy and Hot Block were looking for earlier in the day, was sitting inside his bag, “Oh, boy.” “Calvin? Calvin, are you all right?” he heard Snap Shot ask. “I-I’m fine, but… something unexpected came up.”